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Mohamed Oun
Paris
#105 of 124
Europe

Paris

France

Salary & Cost of Living

View purchasing power ranking

How do salaries and expenses in Paris compare to Helsinki?

Purchasing Power Comparison

An engineer in Paris is 27% worse off vs in Helsinki

This shows how far a software engineer's salary goes in Paris compared to Helsinki, taking into account both salary differences and cost of living.

Median Salary
$70,414
-$12K (-15%) vs Helsinki
Based on 869 data points from levels.fyi
Net Salary
$40,840
-$8K (-16%) vs Helsinki
Tax Rate: 42%

Community Insights

New

Paris offers a polarizing experience for software engineers: it is a career destination for those seeking the "Emily in Paris" lifestyle but a financial trap for those maximizing net worth. While the city ranks poorly for Net Income (#79) and Housing Affordability (#117), it compensates with a vibrant tech scene and unmatched cultural richness. The consensus is that you pay a "sunshine tax" (or rather, a "culture tax") in the form of lower savings and higher bureaucracy to live in one of the world's most beautiful cities.

Resident Sentiment

Current residents express a love-hate relationship. They adore the weekend possibilities—sipping wine by the Seine or taking a train to the South of France—but frequently vent about the administrative hell and the feeling of being "underpaid" compared to peers in London or Berlin. Many treat it as a 2-3 year life experience rather than a permanent settlement, citing the difficulty of buying property and the exhausting city density.

The Good

Living Environment

Weather•Safety•Pollution•Events

A quick look at climate, safety, pollution, and tech community compared to Helsinki.

Rankings

Community Events

Top 4%

#5

of 124 cities

16 events on luma

Current value

Comfortable Weather

Middle of the pack

#46

of 124 cities

49/100 weather score

Current value

Net Income

Middle of the pack

#80

of 124 cities

$40,840/yr

Current value

Housing Affordability

View affordability ranking

How affordable is housing for a software engineer in Paris compared to Helsinki?

Avg. Property Price
$11,878 / m²
62% more expensive than Helsinki
View detailed property prices on Numbeo

Salary Converter

Enter your annual gross salary (before taxes) to see what you would need to earn in Paris to maintain the same standard of living.

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Cost of Living
14% more expensive than Helsinki
View detailed cost breakdown on Numbeo

Top Paying Companies in Paris

Google logo
Google
Amazon logo
Amazon
Datadog logo
Datadog
La French Tech ecosystem is robust and growing, anchored by Station F (world's largest startup campus) and successfully scaled startups (e.g., Algolia, Datadog roots), offering networking opportunities unlike elsewhere in Europe.
  • Strong work-life balance culture ("work to live") with legally protected time off (minimum 5 weeks paid vacation + RTT days), widely respected disconnect laws, and comprehensive healthcare benefits.
  • Unbeatable cultural lifestyle: access to world-class museums, history, architecture, and gastronomy that many residents feel outweighs the lower savings potential.
  • Excellent public infrastructure and connectivity; the dense Metro/RER network makes car ownership unnecessary, and high-speed rail (TGV) offers quick access to London, Brussels, and the rest of Europe.
  • Visa pathways like the "Passeport Talent" (French Tech Visa) streamline the process for non-EU engineers, making it easier to move than to many other EU nations.

    • The Bad

    • Salaries are widely considered "pathetic" by Reddit standards relative to the Cost of Living; despite high gross numbers for France, the net purchasing power for a senior dev is far below US, Swiss, or even German equivalents.
    • The rental market is a nightmare for newcomers; landlords demand a rigorous "dossier" and often require a French guarantor (garant), making it nearly impossible for expats to rent without services like Garantme or banking locks.
    • Legendary bureaucracy: administrative tasks (visas, social security, taxes) are slow, paper-based, and often require distinct French language skills to navigate, leading to months of delays.
    • Social integration is difficult; while English works in the office, Reddit threads consistently warn that making friends with locals is hard without fluency in French, leading to an "expat bubble" existence.
    • Safety and Cleanliness concerns are frequent: residents complain about petty crime (pickpockets), aggressive behavior in certain metro stations, pollution, and occasional sanitation issues (trash strikes).

    The Verdict

    You'll love it if...

    The Francophile who values lifestyle, food, and travel over raw saving potential. Ideal for junior to mid-level engineers from non-EU countries utilizing the French Tech Visa to gain EU access, or those working for top-tier US remote companies who can arbitrage the salary against the local market.

    Skip it if...

    FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) adherents and senior engineers focused on maximizing purchasing power. If you hate bureaucracy, refuse to learn French, or prioritize a large living space (housing is small and expensive), you will likely struggle and regret the move.

    Updated 11/29/2025

    Weather4.9/10+75% vs Helsinki
    Safety42-44%
    Pollution64+412%
    Events16+129%
    4.9/10TechCities weather score vs 2.8/10 in Helsinki

    0–10 composite (higher is better) combining temperature comfort, sunshine hours, rainy-day count, and humid days. See methodology for weighting and data sources.

    Weather snapshot

    Average High
    16°C(vs 9°C in Helsinki)
    Average Low
    8°C(vs 2°C in Helsinki)
    Sunshine Hours
    1,717h/yr-121h/yr(-7%)
    Hottest Month High
    25°C(vs 21°C in Helsinki)
    Coldest Month Low
    2°C(vs -8°C in Helsinki)
    Rainy Days
    90/yr+18/yr(+25%)

    Community & Quality

    Paris community pulse

    Paris has 16 Luma events listed.

    129% more events than Helsinki.

    Pollution Score

    Bottom 27%

    #92

    of 124 cities

    63.5/100

    Current value (lower is better)

    Cost of Living

    Bottom 24%

    #95

    of 124 cities

    63/100

    Current value (lower is better)

    Safety Index

    Bottom 20%

    #101

    of 124 cities

    42/100

    Current value

    Purchasing Power

    Bottom 16%

    #105

    of 124 cities

    Home Affordability

    Bottom 7%

    #117

    of 124 cities

    ≈23.3 yrs to buy 80m²

    Current value

    Tax Rate

    Bottom 2%

    #123

    of 124 cities

    42%

    Current value (lower is better)

    SWE Affordability
    23.3 years
    11.2 years longer than Helsinki
    Muggy Days
    3/yr(same as Helsinki)
    Cloud Cover
    56%(vs 59% in Helsinki)